Nokia shares tumble on weak forecast

Nokia has seen better days. The company issued a warning that it will post losses in the first half of the year and that it will miss its forecasts.

Nokia estimates total Q1 handset sales at 71 million units, but only 12 million of those were smartphones. Worse, only two million Lumia series Windows Phones were sold last quarter. Shipments of Symbian phones are declining faster than anticipated and Lumia sales are not growing fast enough to bridge the gap.

Analysts are already sounding the alarm and the market is reacting with a vengeance. Nokia shares shed 14 percent following the announcement, hitting €3.10, the lowest mark since 1997.

Nokia’s latest Lumia handsets are competitive and they got largely positive reviews. However, good reviews do not seem to be translating into strong sales, at least not fast enough. Analysts believe Nokia has to do more to tamp up Windows Phone sales to compensate for weaker than expected Symbian sales.